At $37K, It’s No Turbo, No Problem, for This Impressive Impreza
Long before America ever got a glimpse of the turbocharged Impreza WRX that had taken over the world rally scene, Subaru hinted at what was possible by giving us the 2.5RS.
The Impreza sedan and wagon arrived in late 1992 in both front- and all-wheel drive, with power from an anemic 1.8-liter flat-four making 110 horsepower. A slightly more gutsy 137-hp 2.2-liter became available for 1995, as did a two-door coupe, but it wasn’t until Subaru made the beauty of all-wheel drive standard in 1997 that the company would give enthusiasts the kick they’d been hoping for.
For 1998, Subaru dropped the 1.8 and added the Legacy’s twin-cam 2.5-liter flat-four engine to the mix, which made 165 hp and 162 lb-ft of torque, with much of that grunt available from about 1500 rpm until peaking at 4000. By inserting it into select Impreza coupes (which weighed about 250 pounds less than the larger Legacy) and decorating them with a hood scoop and vents, a tall rear wing, 16-inch gold wheels, and a deep front fascia with a gaping maw, the Impreza 2.5RS allowed owners to live out their wildest Colin McRae fantasies on snowy parking lots and forest roads around the country.
That the faux scoop and needless wing actually made the car less aerodynamic than its otherwise unadorned siblings was neither here nor there.
“This little roller skate is a hoot…,” wrote Tony Swan for the September 1997 issue of Car and Driver. “Steam-engine torque, traction at both ends, and decisive handling that justifies, at least a little, all its external adornments.”
It wasn’t all just for show, of course: The 2.5RS also benefitted from slight suspension tweaks that produced better roll stiffness and improved damping, and it featured disc brakes at all four corners, an upgrade from the standard Impreza’s rear drums. An automatic was available, and cars outfitted with the five-speed manual enjoyed closer ratios than in other Imprezas. With a 0–60 mph time of around 8 seconds, the 2.5RS was still a far cry from the performance of the WRX, but as that car was still unobtainium, few complained. When new, the 2.5RS cost about $20,000—a $4000 premium over the base Impreza L.
They were initially offered in Rally Blue Pearl, Brilliant Red, Midnight Black, and Acadia Green, and Subaru sold about 800 that first year. Changes over the car’s four years of production included more colors, a revised front bumper with large fog lights, replacing the gold five-spoke wheels with identical silver ones and eventually six-spokers, adding white gauges in the instrument cluster to further bolster the car’s sporting pretensions, and adding a sedan to the lineup. A SOHC “Phase II” engine eventually replaced the DOHC unit (and solved some reliability issues); it upped torque to 166 lb-ft, but performance otherwise remained unchanged.
This 1999 Impreza 2.5RS, equipped with the five-speed and showing 37,600 miles, was sold by its original owner via Cars & Bids on December 12, for the princely sum of $37,358, including fees.
That’s a lot of coin for a non-WRX Impreza. Recent comparable sales of stock examples on the platform include a 155,000-mile one-owner 2000 sedan at $8200 back in June, a 41,000-mile one-owner coupe in August 2023 for $29,250, and a 112,000-miler with an automatic back in September 2022 for $7550. Over on Bring A Trailer, comps include a 64,000-mile ’01 five-speed for $20,000 in October, a 50,000-mile ’01 for $36,250 last April, and a 2000 coupe with 117,000-miles for $17,250 back in August 2023.
As you might expect with a mildly sporty interstitial version of a car that eventually came extra spicy, finding a clean, unmodified example can be tricky, as no shortage of WRX bits and pieces have found their way onto and into these cars over the years. But they are out there, and Subaru geeks are searching for them, wallets open.
In the listing’s comments, the seller states, “When I bought this car, I wanted something that looked good and was fun to drive. I got that and more!” And the seller has done well over the last 25 years to keep this Subaru in as close to mint, stock condition as possible, only adding aftermarket LED bulbs to the headlights, brake lights, and dome lights. Surely that un-messed-with condition had great appeal here, in addition to the low miles, because bidders were happy to overlook the car’s noted minor flaws—scratches, dings, chips, and some rust underneath.
In a furious back-and-forth in the sale’s final hours, two bidders took the Impreza up over $10K from $26,500 to its hammer price. They knew exactly what they were after, and what they were getting, even if some others didn’t quite understand it: “Why is this so high?” asked one commenter. “I can get a 2020 STI for around $25K.”
True, yep, you sure can. They’re everywhere. And they’ll trounce one of these things all day. On the other hand, it takes a Subie aficionado to suss out and appreciate a good 2.5RS. These cars don’t have to make sense to the rest of us so long as those in the know appreciate them for what they are. It’s nice to see that in action on the block every once in a while.
